After several news reports of the discontinuation of the Garib Rath train services, the Railway Ministry on Friday clarified that there was no proposal to do so. The reports were circulated after services of Garib Rath in Kathgodam-Jammu and Kathgodam-Kanpur route were replaced by mail or express trains.

The ministry clarified that it was due to temporary shortage of coaches on Northern Railway and that the services of the two pairs of weekly low-cost no-frills AC train will be resumed from 4 August.

"Services of Train no. 12207/08 Garibrath Express between Kathgodam and Jammu Tawi and Train no. 12209/10 Garibrath Express between Kanpur and Kathgodam restored with effect from August 4, 2019," the rail ministry tweeted.

"It is clarified that there was no proposal to discontinue Garib Rath Services on Indian Railways," it further said.

The initiation of Mail or Express trains in the said route would have meant an increase in train fare for passengers. For example, a Delhi-Bandra Garib Rath ticket that was priced at Rs 1,050 will cost Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 in case of Express trains.

The train was introduced in 2006 by the then Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, targeting middle and lower income classes.

However, the manufacture of new coaches for the train has already been stopped, the PTI reported. This raises the question on their continuance as the present coaches are 10-14 years old.